


Christmas at the Holly Lodge

by lululawrence



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, American AU, American Harry, American Louis, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, If You Squint - Freeform, Kinda, Light Angst, M/M, Meet-Cute, No Smut, basically this is a hallmark movie, investor harry, mentions of death of loved ones, small business owner louis, the niall/logan is past, turned larry and friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 06:53:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13118400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lululawrence/pseuds/lululawrence
Summary: Harry made his way to the back of the lodge and saw a building that looked like it used to be a barn, that had obviously had some renovations done. The lights were on and it looked a little like Santa’s workshop. As Harry walked closer, he saw that one of the windows was cracked open and through it came the tune of Mariah Carey’sAll I Want for Christmas is You. Dancing along was the most beautiful man Harry had ever seen.The guy was really going to town, too. It looked like he was organizing boxes of ornaments or something, but he had taken time to pause and hold up...was that a hot glue gun?...to sing into so he was belting right along with Mariah.Harry covered his mouth with his gloved hand to hold back the giggles, and continued walking. He didn’t want to disturb the guy and embarrass him by letting him know he’d been seen. It was adorable and Harry needed to make sure he had a better first impression than that. He could already tell this visit was going to be interesting.Or the one where Louis is the owner of the Holly Lodge, Harry is an investment advisor, and maybe Christmas miracles really do exist.





	Christmas at the Holly Lodge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyLondonderry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLondonderry/gifts).



> EMMU! I love you and I hope you love this fic at least a fraction as much as I love you. Merry Christmas!
> 
> Major thanks to my beta, [Bri](http://briannamarguerite.tumblr.com)! And to [Molly](http://becomeawendybird.tumblr.com) for letting me whine to her about keeping this a secret while writing it sitting literally BESIDE EMMU because SECRETS ARE HARD as well as for creating the moodboard for my fic post. Basically these two ladies are rock stars.
> 
> This fic is based on the prompt "I was walking past your house, you had your door open and I saw you dancing in your kitchen and now whenever I hear that song I think about you" and then twisted to fit a Hallmark movie I loved. Which is credited with the title of this fic as well as plot points, etc. I also do not own any of the characters, please don't share this fic with anyone affiliated with the boys, this is a work of fiction and in no way real, etc etc amen and amen. I also have no idea how small business loans work and have only minor knowledge of home loans...so all information about such things in this fic was completely gleaned from viewing the aforementioned movie.
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy!

“Yes, Charles. I understand. I’ve only booked the room for two nights, but I have no worries about getting the information you need in that time.”

Harry continued to drive down the winding road, focusing on the exit numbers. His GPS said to look for Exit 12 off this random country highway, but as he got further up a mountain he worried for the car, the roads, and anyone who would want to stay in a lodge on the actual top of the mountain.

Charles blathered on before disconnecting the call without any warning. Harry rolled his eyes and flipped back to his GPS. It...didn’t seem to know where he was and had given up on him. Excellent.

Harry looked up just in time to catch the exit before following signs to what seemed to be the city center. The closer Harry got, he realized it really wasn’t so much a city center as just a random place on the mountain where all the shops congregated.

Harry pulled over and found what looked like a Christmas stand. He pocketed his phone and stepped out of his toasty car to find it was absolutely frigid this high up the mountain. It made sense, but somehow his body wasn’t prepared for the jolt of freezing air.

“Hello and welcome to Holly!” the man who was working the stand said. “You look a little lost. Can I help you?”

Harry smiled gratefully. “Yes, actually. I’m afraid my GPS gave out after telling me to get off at Exit 12.”

“Oh, you’re one of the lucky ones, then!” the man said with a chuckle. “Usually the GPS gives up after exit two. So if you’re obviously not from around here and the directions said to get off at this exit, I’m guessing you’re looking for one of our inns. We’ve got some really great ones around here, man! And really close to the skiing, which I’m guessing is what brought you here now that we’ve got snow again!”

“Yes, I am. Looking for a lodge, actually.”

The man was nice and all, but it was cold and Harry had left his coat in the car. He would really appreciate it if the man moved this along.

“Oh! I bet you’re looking for the Holly Lodge then.”

Harry gave a bit of a confused smile to the man, because he wasn’t expecting him to know his destination right off. “Yes, actually. I am. You like it, then?”

“Oh, it’s my favorite place on this mountain,” the man said. He flipped his long, glossy black hair over his shoulder, uncovering his name tag. Steve. “You’re going to love it. It’s the best anywhere in this area for Christmas.”

Harry nodded, intrigued. That was great news. Charles was hoping it would already be a location that held favor with the town so he could have support for when he took it over.

“So how exactly do I get to this Holly Lodge?”

“Oh, it’s easy!” Steve said. “Just go back to the highway and get off at the next exit. I know the GPS said to get off at 12, but 13 is easier without the fancy navigation technology. You turn right until you pass the lake to your left. That road takes you past a couple of old barns and once you pass the second one you’ll want to turn right again. That is a county road that will wind you all around and after you’ve gone through some woods you’ll wanna go right again. That’ll be a T, a dead end, so you won’t be able to miss it. After that, just take the first left and the lodge will be about a mile down on your right.”

Harry blinked and tried to think back through all of the directions. They made sense, but he hoped he could remember them all.

“I should probably write that down for you, huh?” Steve said as he began to search for paper.

“No, no. It’s okay. I think I’ve got it.” Harry started to walk back to his car. As genial as the man was, he kind of just wanted to get to the inn, warm up, and get to work so he could get back to New York as soon as possible and start his actual Christmas plans. “Thanks for your help.”

“Sure thing, man. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

Harry waved and got back into his car. He didn’t expect to see anyone in the town around, since he wasn’t planning on leaving the lodge. He was here for work, and that was it. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could get back home.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis carried the heavy tub of rock salt back to the garage and wiped his hands. At least the walkways were keeping nice and clear of ice. That had been a concern after the storm that came through the day before, but the salt was doing its job.

As Louis walked back to the front door of the lodge, he saw a familiar car pull up. As soon as the head of the man he’d been waiting for all day appeared, Louis began to jog to the parking lot.

“Niall! You made it!”

Niall turned to look at Louis, and gave a wide smile.

“Of course I did, you fucker! Nothing was going to keep me away.”

Louis and Niall hugged tightly, swaying back and forth a little as Louis took in the feeling of having one of his best friends back in town with him again.

“You’re staying through New Year’s, right?” Louis whispered. “I know it isn’t the same without Logan, but…”

Niall shook his head and pulled back to look Louis in the eye. “I miss him, I’ll always miss him, but he would have wanted me to enjoy my first Christmas without him, and same goes for New Year’s. I’m here until you kick me out.”

Louis nodded. Niall was so strong. His husband of almost twelve years had passed away last winter. It was sudden, due to a heart defect they’d never known he had. It had shaken all of them, but of course Niall had it the hardest. Louis knew how it felt to lose loved ones, though, and sometimes the strength and conviction of knowing what they wanted for you made continuing to live your life that much easier.

“Come on. Let’s grab all seventy of the bags I know you packed and get you situated.”

As the two of them made a couple of trips to Niall’s car, Zayn came wandering out of the kitchen.

“Hey, Zayn. Do you mind manning the front desk? There’s a couple of others who are supposed to check in, but I want to make sure Niall gets situated alright, then I’ve got some things to finish in the barn.”

Zayn gave a lazy mock salute before walking to the great room where there was a large gathering of Louis’ loved ones, his chosen family, all enjoying decorating the Christmas tree they had put up together an hour or so ago.

Louis loved the Holly Lodge. It was his home, where he’d grown up, and he loved the people who came every year for Christmas. He was a little behind on the mortgage after a couple of hard years, but now that the snow had finally returned, it looked like he might be able to get caught up by summer if all went well.

None of that mattered right now, though. He had his friends here for the holiday, so as long as he could keep the bank at bay, Christmas would be fantastic and then he could get back to real life.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry parked and made sure to put his jacket on this time before stepping outside. He had to admit, the lodge was incredibly picturesque and the surroundings were beautiful. It was exactly what Charles had hoped it would be. Assuming the owner would want to sell, this should be an easy transaction for Charles. Of course, by that time, Harry’s job would be done and he wouldn’t have to worry about it anyway.

Harry grabbed his carry on bag and headed inside. What greeted him was a large group of people who must have been family. They were singing carols and decorating a Christmas tree while some smaller groups of the older generations sat in chairs and watched as they chatted. It was beautiful and brought back the memories of everything Harry had wanted as a child. It felt like he was walking into the dream world his eight-year-old self had created.

“Hello, and welcome to Holly Lodge.” Harry turned to his right and found a man with thick eyebrows and earnest, brown eyes walking through a door. He had a wide smile and was holding out his hand. “I’m Liam. Is this your first time staying with us?”

Harry nodded and offered a smile. “It is, actually. Are you the owner?”

“Oh, no,” Liam laughed. “That’s Louis. He’s around here somewhere, always busy with something. I can get you checked in though.”

“Li, I can do it. You keep working on dinner. I know it’s labor intensive tonight.”

Harry looked to his left and saw a man with the most incredible cheekbones and jet black hair walking towards them. If it weren’t for the soft way he was looking at Liam as well as the fact that Harry was only there for a couple nights, Harry would have tried his hand at flirting with the man, but it seemed obvious he was taken.

“Thanks, Zayn. Nice to meet you, uh…” Liam blushed a little as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m afraid I didn’t even ask your name.”

“Oh.” Harry’s eyes went wide when he realized. “I’m sorry. I’m Harry.” Turning towards Zayn who would probably need his name to check him in anyway, Harry said, “Styles, is what the reservation should be under.”

Zayn nodded with a small smile and walked to the computer. “Oh, it says you’re only here for two nights?” Zayn looked at Harry in surprise. “This close to Christmas, I just assumed you were coming for the holiday.”

Harry shook his head. “No, I’m just here as a bit of a getaway. And to work.”

Zayn scrunched his eyebrows in a way that was both adorable and damn sexy. How did he do both at the same time? Harry wanted to learn his ways.

“Okay. Well, it looks like you already filled out your paperwork ahead of time, so that’s easy. You’re in the Douglas Fir suite, and here’s your key. It’s just at the top of the stairs and second on your left.”

Harry looked at the shiny, finished wood keychain that was in the shape of a pine tree. In simple script it read _Douglas Fir._ It was charming, but definitely not something Charles would want to continue. Then again, if Charles had his way, he would probably gut this place and add onto it in order to make it the creation he had in mind. It would lose all its charm, and for that Harry was already disappointed, but that was part of what Charles did.

Once in the room, Harry set his things on the bed and took a quick look around. It was clean and tidy, comfortable and rustic, just as he’d expected. He would take a closer look later, for now he wanted to see what he could of the grounds before it got dark.

Harry pulled the boots out of his carry on and walked back downstairs before zipping up his coat and walking back out the door he so recently came in through. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The air in the mountains was always so fresh, crisp, and clean. He’d always loved it when he was able to go skiing as a kid, but it had been a long time since he’d last been able to. It had been years since he’d allowed himself a vacation, now that he thought about it. Maybe he would have to do that this year. Somewhere closer to home, though. In case work called.

Harry made his way to the back of the lodge and saw a building that looked like it used to be a barn, that had obviously had some renovations done. The lights were on and it looked a little like Santa’s workshop. As Harry walked closer, he saw that one of the windows was cracked open and through it came the tune of Mariah Carey’s _All I Want for Christmas is You._ Dancing along was the most beautiful man Harry had ever seen.

He was perfect. He had feathery hair and, Harry knew he’d already thought he had seen the most perfect cheekbones earlier with Zayn, but he’d been wrong. This man was the definite winner.

The guy was really going to town, too. It looked like he was organizing boxes of ornaments or something, but he had taken time to pause and hold up...was that a hot glue gun?...to sing into so he was belting right along with Mariah.

Harry covered his mouth with his gloved hand to hold back the giggles, and continued walking. He didn’t want to disturb the guy and embarrass him by letting him know he’d been seen. It was adorable and Harry needed to make sure he had a better first impression than that. He could already tell this visit was going to be interesting.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis took off his scarf and coat before hanging them up in the front closet. It was one of his favorite hiding places as a kid because it was big, had its own light, and he loved exploring the different coats that belonged to the guests. He had grown out of imagining what kinds of lives the coats led, but he still loved the memories that came whenever he opened the door and smelled the cedar that lined the walls.

When he turned around, Zayn was standing nearby, watching his every move with a smirk. It wasn’t often Zayn observed his surroundings without voicing his opinion.

“Hello, Zayn. Why are you acting stranger than usual?”

“I just checked in a guest, who only had two nights booked, a little while ago.”

Louis went through his mental notes to think of who that might be. He didn’t remember making a reservation for anyone who wasn’t going to stay through Christmas. They were less than a week away, after all.

“Okay, that still doesn’t explain why you’re looking at me like that,” Louis said as he made his way to the room where everyone had finished decorating the tree and were sitting around chatting while drinking coffee and hot chocolate. Louis waved to some, gave kisses on the head to others, and wrapped more in hugs, just because he could. He’d already seen all of them this morning, but he only got to see some of these people for one week out of the entire year. He was going to bask in their presence as much as he could.

“That’s because you haven’t seen him yet,” Zayn said.

Louis arched his brow at Zayn and was about to make an incredibly witty comeback when the door opened and, with the snow, in blew a man who might very well be an angel.

His dark hair had probably once been the approximation of a quiff, but the weather and his curls had turned it into a bit of an unruly mop on top of his head. With the snow dusting it, though, it made the man look like he was glowing. The man closed the door before freezing mid-step as soon as his gaze landed on Louis.

Shit, even from across the room Louis could tell the man’s eyes were something to behold. He had a strong jaw and full lips and a beautiful nose, too. Louis didn’t even know there was such a thing as a beautiful nose before now, but there definitely was. Even better than his nose were his incredible, long legs. They were currently in dress slacks  that had a nice, close fit and Louis almost whimpered out loud.

It was then that Louis realized he had been standing in the middle of the great room, staring at a man who was very likely his guest, while the rest of the people surrounding him watched on. Liam nudged Louis’ shoulder at the same time Zayn pinched his waist and Louis jumped into action. He really should welcome his new guest.

As Louis walked away, he looked over his shoulder quickly and saw Niall’s eyes oscillating between Louis and the angel in the doorway with a look of amusement on his face. Right. Everyone saw that, then. Excellent.

Louis, already flustered, rushed over to the guest and plastered on what likely was a bit of a manic grin.

“Hi! Welcome to Holly Lodge!” It came out a bit breathless and yet _somehow_ still far too loud, but Louis could hardly worry about that. At least he was able to string together a full sentence.

For the first time since the other man had made eye contact with Louis, he began to move and tripped over the front mat as he extended his hand.

“Right! Yes, hello. I’m Harry. Uh, Styles. I just checked in earlier?”

Fuck, his voice was so deep. And slow. And rich. And his mouth moving was even more distracting than Louis had initially expected, holy shit.

“Did you really or are you not sure?” Louis said without thinking. He widened his eyes and slapped a hand over his mouth, because oh my God. He wasn’t supposed to treat customers like that. What happened to his brain to mouth filter?

Thankfully, Harry didn’t seem to mind, based on the strange sound he emitted before slapping his own hand over his mouth. This first meeting was obviously going well for both of them. Maybe he would agree to a do-over later.

“God, can you please ignore the fact I just made that sound?” Harry asked, his eyes squeezing closed.

“Yeah, course. Absolutely,” Louis said as quickly as he could. He didn’t want Harry to feel as mortified as Louis did, if that was possible. The man was beautiful and should always be happy.

“Thanks.”

They both stood there, watching each other, until someone in the other room (which had gone mysteriously silent during all of this) cleared their throat awkwardly. Louis turned back to look at everyone and found only Liam, Zayn, and Niall still blatantly watching them. Everyone else went back to pretending they were focused on each other and their conversations.

“I was going to hang around down here for a little bit, but is there a family reunion or something going on in there? If so, I’ll just go back to my room until dinner.”

“What?” Louis asked, turning to look at Harry. He was gesturing towards Louis’ gathering of guests who had over the years become so much more. “Oh! No. It’s just Christmas.” Louis smiled and shrugged. “Feel free to come join us. The hot chocolate Zayn makes is to die for.”

“Come on, Louis. We want to sing carols!” Lux called.

Louis turned to smile at the girl. How had she somehow not yet hit the moody teen years? She was fourteen and still throwing herself completely into all of the Christmas traditions they kept at the lodge. Louis had thought the hormones kicked in far before this, but he wasn’t going to complain. He held up a finger asking her to wait, and turned to ask if Harry sang, but Harry spoke first.

“You’re Louis? Like the Louis who owns the Holly Lodge?”

Louis waved idiotically. “Yeah, that’s me. Louis Tomlinson, small-business owner.”

Harry’s mouth opened and shut, having the effect of making him look like a lost, but beautiful, fish, when Louis’ attention caught on the door. Another guest Louis had been anxiously awaiting had just arrived with his eight-year-old daughter.

“Shawn!” Louis cried before running to the man and wrapping him in a hug. “And Jess!” Louis leaned down and gave her a tight hug as well. Jess gave what could only be described as a smile that looked to be against her will before pulling back and walking sulkily to the living room.

Louis turned his shocked gaze to Shawn who just shrugged his shoulders. “The divorce was really hard on her, you know? She’s not taking it well, and she was supposed to spend Christmas with her mom, but…” Shawn just widened his eyes and sighed. “You know.”

Louis nodded sadly. “Well. We’ll see if we can cheer her up. Are you staying through New Year’s?”

Shawn rolled his eyes, seemingly near tears. The stress of the past several months must have caught up with him. “I wasn’t going to, but now I don’t know. I just love it here so much, you know?”

Louis nodded and brought Shawn into his side as he walked them to the main room. “I get it. Listen, stay with us the extra nights. It’ll be on me, okay? I’ve already put you two in the largest suite, so just relax and know you’ve got some more help while you’re here, okay?”

Shawn nodded. “Thanks, Louis.”

Louis gave him a kind smile before pushing him towards the piano and shouting, “Look everyone! Our pianist has arrived!”

Shawn held up his hands when the cheers and clapping started.

“Alright, alright!” Shawn agreed with a laugh, all signs of tears wiped away with the distraction. “Let’s get some singing going!”

Louis turned around and grabbed the bags Shawn had left by the door and lifted the key for the White Pine suite off the board before making his way upstairs. Once Louis had taken care of that, he checked the time. Shit, the bank was already closed. He’d have to sneak into town and meet with Paul tomorrow, then.

That was okay. Louis would go down and allow himself to enjoy the carols before getting back to work.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry woke up the next morning feeling incredibly refreshed. He had joined in singing carols after he’d watched Louis with Shawn and his daughter. How could he not? Harry was already in over his head and he felt a desire that was far more personal than it was work related to get to know Louis the best he could.

Even in the short amount of time he’d watched him, he was already learning that Louis was amazing. He was loving and adorable and hard-working and attuned to everything going on in the Holly Lodge, which did worry Harry a little bit. What if he learned that Harry was primarily there for his boss to see if it was possible for the Lodge to be bought out?

Really, at this point, Harry knew Louis wouldn’t sell willingly, but he also already knew that Louis was behind on his mortgage payments. He’d overheard Louis whispering with Liam last night, and while Harry didn’t know how far behind Louis was, he would soon enough and that could be the point that Charles would jump on. If Louis was far enough behind with his payments, then it wouldn’t matter if he wanted to sell or not, Charles could purchase the promissory note out from under him.

That wasn’t a point Harry had anticipated coming into this. With all previous sales that Harry had worked with Charles on, the sellers had done so willingly. The fact that the Holly Lodge was obviously a place of such importance to not only Louis but everyone that Harry had met in his short time there so far made this more personal, and that made the business aspect not so cut and dry. Harry liked everything to be clean-cut and impersonal. The fact this one already wasn’t had tension already building in his upper back.

Harry did his best to do as he always did and put his personal feelings to the side while he finished dressing. His clothes, as he now understood, were completely inappropriate since they were business casual attire, but they would have to do. He made his way down to breakfast, and it seemed he had missed most of the rush already, because the only people left in the great room were Liam and Niall, talking quietly in the corner.

Harry settled down with the plate of eggs and sausage that he had gathered from the warmers on the counter when Louis came and sat down at the table with him.

“Morning, Harry,” Louis said. His blue eyes were bright and set off perfectly by the cream sweater he was wearing. Harry wanted to touch it, it looked so soft, but he guessed that wouldn’t be taken well from a near stranger. Instead, he just observed that Louis was definitely a morning person with as chipper as he was right now, and Harry couldn’t help but smile at him, even if he wasn’t really fully awake yet.

“Morning, Louis.”

“How did you sleep last night?”

Harry finished chewing his bite of the fluffiest eggs he’d ever eaten in his life, before responding, eyes wide with surprise.

“I slept great, but the better question is about these eggs. Seriously, I thought they were just run of the mill scrambled eggs when I got them, but now I’m wondering how in the world it’s possible for them to taste like this.”

Louis laughed and leaned back in his chair.

“That’s the magic of Liam.” Louis twirled his fingers through the air with a smirk. “I’m kidding. Kind of. Liam is actually a trained chef. He went to culinary school in Chicago and had dreams of owning his own restaurant, but when I had to take over here earlier than expected, he told me he had new dreams and came to help me instead.”

Harry’s eyebrows furrowed. “Sorry if it’s too personal, but what changed your plans with taking over here?”

Louis’ eyes saddened, but the smile didn’t leave his face. “It’s fine. My parents died while I was finishing my last year of college. Car accident. I finished my courses online so I could still get my degree, but it meant I had to make do with what I had here. I couldn’t have done it without Liam and Zayn.”

“God, I’m sorry, Louis. So you’ve been running this place on your own ever since?”

Louis straightened up a little in pride even as he blushed. “Yeah. Going on about twelve years now.”

“You’re amazing,” Harry breathed out. It was too late to take it back, and he wasn’t sure he would even if he could, but he was a little embarrassed about how smitten he sounded. To his pleasure, it only made Louis blush more.

“Not really.” Louis cleared his throat before changing the subject. “So, what are you doing today? Going skiing? Shopping in town?”

Harry chewed his bite of the sausage patty, and began to believe in the magic of Liam even more. He’d known the food was good last night after dinner, but this morning was more than he’d thought was possible for out in the middle of nowhere.

“I was planning to just stick around here and work, actually.”

“What?” Louis asked in surprise as he shook his head. “No. That’s not okay. You have to get out and do something. This is your only full day here. You have to experience the area. You should go skiing. We got some fresh powder last night, which will make the conditions perfect.”

Harry smiled and took another bite. “Well. Maybe I will. But just this morning. Then I have to get to work.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll take whatever I can get.” Louis stood up and pulled his jumper down to cover the sliver of skin that had been exposed with his movements. Harry wasn’t sure whether to mourn the loss of the view or thank the Lord that his heart hadn’t beaten out of his chest at the quick view of the smooth skin. “Enjoy the rest of your breakfast, Harry. Let me or Liam know if you have any questions.”

“I will,” Harry promised as he watched Louis walk away. Once Louis was out of his eyesight, Harry closed his eyes and tried to keep the groan that wanted to escape within himself. Louis was proving far too distracting, and at this point Harry might end up having to extend his stay. Not that Harry really minded, but Charles might. “God, I’m in trouble.”

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis continued to shovel the walkway and was glad he’d decided to only wear his puffy vest and not his full on coat. He was sweating even wearing just that over his long sleeves. He would have died of heat exhaustion at this rate if he’d worn anything heavier.

“Hang on, what’s this?”

Louis finished tossing the shovel full of snow to the side before standing up and turning around to see Harry fully decked out in what had to be Liam’s snow gear for skiing.

Louis smiled at the sight. The snow gear shouldn’t be doing him any favors, yet here he was, looking just as bright and stunning as ever. It must be a Christmas miracle.

“It’s me...shoveling the snow that fell overnight?” Louis wiped his brow with his wet gloves. Lotta good that did.

Harry had a wide smile on his face, but Louis could tell it was one of disbelief or surprise, not  happiness.

“So you’re telling me that you convinced me to put my own work away and enjoy myself, but you yourself are out here shoveling snow?”

Louis looked around at all the rest of the chores he still had to get done today in addition to running down to the bank at a time when people wouldn’t notice he was gone.

“Well...yeah. That’s kind of my job, Harry,” Louis said, cocking his hip to add some sass and playfulness to the truth. “I want to make sure you enjoy your stay just as much as I need to ensure the safety of everyone staying here by keeping the sidewalks clear.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “Are you doing this so you can get out of going skiing with me?”

Louis scoffed, but before he could say anything Harry continued, a light of challenge brightening his eyes. It was then Louis knew he’d already lost this battle.

“Are you just scared you won’t be able to keep up with me? Do you not know how to ski?”

Louis outright snorted at that. “Yeah, that’s exactly it. You’ve learned my greatest shame. I grew up on a ski slope, but never actually learned how to ski.”

“Well, come and show me what you’ve got, then. There’s no saying no, really. Resistance is futile.”

Harry had continued walking so he was incredibly close to Louis. Louis could feel the pull of him the closer he got, and he felt like it was a natural gravity that he was trying to resist. And why? Why would he ever want to resist the gravitational pull of a man like the one standing in front of him?

“Okay. I will. Let me get my gear and I’ll meet you at the ski lift.” Louis stuck the shovel into the pile of snow he had created with the shoveling he’d already completed. If he begged enough, maybe Niall or Liam would finish it for him.

“Okay. You better not leave me hanging, Tomlinson!” Harry called as he walked backwards towards his car.

“Never!” Louis shouted back. He could have a little fun before getting back to work. It would be just fine. One ski run, and then he could run to town and see Paul and no one would be the wiser. He hoped.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry stood on his skis and watched while Louis made his way over.

“You rented skis? So much for growing up on a ski resort,” Harry teased.

Louis gave Harry a wry smile before passing him and getting in line for the lift. “They keep my skis for me. I grew up here, remember?”

“Oh yeah, I think you mentioned that before. Around the same time you told me that you knew how to ski.”

Louis pursed his lips to hold back laughter, but his shoulders still bounced a little. “You better not be shit, Harold, or you’re really going to regret getting me this worked up over a single race down the mountain.”

“I’m gonna beat you and then we’ll see who was talking shit.”

Louis raised his eyebrows and then it was their turn on the lift. They got situated and once they were on their way up, Louis looked over to Harry.

“So, tell me more about you. What has you so busy with work around Christmas?”

Harry shifted a little. He didn’t want to lie, but he’d also rather stay away from work as a subject.

“I work with finances. I’m an advisor of sorts. My boss gave me a large project he wants wrapped up before Christmas at the last minute, so to be able to focus on it I came out here.”

That was pretty much the truth, so he didn’t feel _too_ bad about it, even if it was lacking in some important details. Hopefully Louis wouldn’t ever need to find out anyway and everything would be fine. Harry didn’t want Charles to get ahold of the lodge and change it all, he wanted it to stay exactly as it was, in Louis’ hands if possible. Harry had no idea how he could ensure that happened, but he was working on it.

Louis seemed to accept Harry’s response and looked out at the trees. “It _is_ beautiful out here. Just one run down the mountain and I’ll let you go do what you need. I’ve got a lot that needs done around the lodge, too.”

Harry nodded and focused on the view as well for the rest of the ride to the top. They got off the lift and headed over to where the trails branched off.

“You okay with the black diamond, or should we stick with the blue square?” Louis teased.

Harry shook his head. “You’re severely underestimating me.”

Louis pulled his goggles down and Harry did the same before making sure they had their poles secured and everything in its place.

“Alright. Ready…” Louis started.

“Set…” Harry continued.

“Go!”

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis had such a fun time on the ski run with Harry. He was glad he’d allowed himself that time to relax and enjoy himself before going in to see Paul. As it was, now he was sitting awkwardly at Paul’s desk waiting for him to finish a phone call and find out why the man had wanted Louis to come in.

“Sorry about that,” Paul apologized once he’d hung up. He took a deep breath before leaning forward in his chair, a worried look on his face. “Louis, you’ve heard about how the bank was bought out, right?”

Louis’ brows furrowed. “Yeah, but that was months ago. And I thought you said it wouldn’t affect my agreement with the bank?”

Paul shook his head and shuffled the papers on his desk until he found the one he was looking for. He was obviously a bit frazzled and it was showing with the lack of organization in the area he usually kept pristine.

“Yes, that’s true in that the mortgage and interest rates would stay the same and be grandfathered in under the new bank’s ownership. But they are cracking down on payments, and I know you’ve been doing the best you could and you were hoping to catch up with the snow finally coming back, but Louis...you’re still six months behind.”

Cold worry and fear trickled down Louis’ spine as Paul’s words began to sink in. “What are you trying to say, Paul?”

“They want all accounts to become current and if they aren’t by the new year, then they’re taking possession.”

Louis’ eyes widened in shock. “Are you kidding me? Paul! That’s not...That’s like two weeks away!”

Paul nodded. “Here’s the thing. I think we can still give you a little bit of a buffer, okay? But what I wanted you to come in for is that you need to find a way to bring this current as soon as possible. They obviously aren’t going to be able to act on every property that is behind by more than two months on January second. I’m going to do the best I can to ensure that you are one of the last properties that is addressed on the matter. I don’t know how long I can hold them off, though.”

Louis nodded and squeezed his eyes shut before he became too overwhelmed. He had no idea where he would find the money for that. If only he hadn’t taken out that damn extra loan in order to do some fixing up around the lodge a few years ago this wouldn’t be an issue. It was that extra amount that was killing him.

Of course that extra amount was also what had kept the Holly Lodge in good repair. Shit. This was not good at all.

“Louis? Are you okay?”

Louis took a deep breath to steady himself before opening his eyes and looking into Paul’s face. Paul had taken over the account Louis’ parents had for the Holly Lodge about five years before they passed away. He hadn’t been with them for the long haul, but he was kind and always did the best he could to help Louis out when he was able. Louis knew he didn’t like being the one to break this news.

“I’ll be fine. Thank you so much for explaining everything, Paul.”

Paul gave a worried smile. “Please let me know if I can help at all. I’m sorry, Louis.”

Louis nodded and got up to leave. Well, now he really did need a Christmas miracle, and more than just a pretty man by the name of Harry Styles coming into his life.

 

*~~***~~*

 

When Harry got back to the Holly Lodge, he had to smile. Niall was working on decorating ornaments with Jess. It was so sweet how everyone worked together and really did make those who came every year feel like a family.

Harry went up to his room and finally pulled out his phone to find a missed call from Charles.

“Harry, it’s about time you called me back. I didn’t send you out there for a vacation, you know. Is the reception there shoddy? If so, that just won’t do and I’ll need to talk with the phone companies about getting better tower placement.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Sorry, I was just busy is all.”

“Ah, so did you get all the information we need, then?”

Harry looked around his room and noticed the bed was made while he was gone. That was nice. It didn’t smell like cleaning supplies, but it looked like things in the bathroom had been wiped down as well.

“I’m still working on it, actually. I think I might have to stay another couple of days.”

“Harry,” Charles chastised. “I need this information as soon as possible. I told you I wanted to be able to close this deal before Christmas and that includes paperwork. We are very quickly running out of time.”

“I know, but listen to me, I’m not sure this is the move you want to make. The owner doesn’t want to sell and I’m not sure this is the property you want for yourself.”

“What are you talking about?” Charles demanded. “You told me when you first arrived that more land was involved than you originally expected and that’s great news. What happened?”

Harry sighed. “Let me finish my research, okay? That’s what I need more time for. I want to make sure that what I _think_ is the case actually _is_ before I go telling you any lies.”

Harry could feel the tension in his back growing as he waited for Charles to respond. He knew Charles wanted more details than Harry was giving, but he wasn’t ready to tell him yet. If he did, Charles would move too quickly for Harry to find a way to help Louis the way he wanted.

“Fine. Just hurry up and keep me up to date on your findings,” Charles snipped before hanging up.

Harry tossed his phone onto the bed and decided to take a nice, long shower. He’d done another two or three runs down the mountain after Louis left and he needed some time under the warm water to get full feeling back in his toes and fingers. Then he could go do some more exploring around the property and maybe spend some time in the great room with everyone else.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis was already brainstorming ideas that were never going to work when he got back to Holly Lodge and Liam pulled Louis into the kitchen.

“Louis, I have something really important to tell you,” he whispered.

Louis looked around the room. No one else was back there and as far as he knew, the only people in the main room were Niall, Jess, and Granny Mona.

“Why are we whispering?” Louis asked.

“I already feel bad about how I found out about what I’m going to tell you and I definitely don’t want anyone else to learn about it.”

“Liam. What the hell are you talking about?”

Liam sighed and pulled out his phone. While he maneuvered to whatever he wanted to show Louis, he explained. “I was doing the straightening up of the rooms and got to Harry’s. His laptop was sitting open and for some reason he didn’t have it locked, which by the way is a really bad idea. I mean, it’s his business computer! There are all kinds of sensitive information on there. He should know better than to leave it unsecured.”

Louis snapped his fingers in Liam’s face. “Li. Focus.”

“Right.” Liam refocused on his phone before handing it over. “I was wiping down his nightstand and when I set his laptop back down it woke up and I saw the name of the Holly Lodge on the document he had open.”

Louis zoomed in and read through the paragraphs he could find. It was a detailed record of everything Harry had observed and was just getting into what he knew about the financial standing of the lodge when the photo cut off.

“Did you get anything else, Li? I need what comes next.”

Liam shook his head and took his phone back, immediately deleting the photo. “I wasn’t about to actually scroll. I was feeling guilty enough just taking that photo of the screen. I feel like he’ll somehow know I saw it!”

Louis’ mind felt like it was moving at warp speed. Harry was here for work, that was what he’d told Louis, but he hadn’t explained that he was here because the Holly Lodge _was_ his work. He was here to find a way to take Louis’ precious lodge from him. That combined with the news Louis had just gotten from Paul was going to lead him to having an early ulcer. And now it looked more likely than not that Louis would lose the Holly Lodge. Fuck.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” Louis said, trying to formulate a plan as he spoke. _Something_ needed to be done, and it had to be done quickly. “It doesn’t matter how beautiful Harry is, I’ve got to make his stay as miserable as possible to make it look like Holly Lodge is a bad investment.”

Liam immediately spread out his arms to protect the food he was already preparing for dinner that night.

Louis rolled his eyes. “Not your food, obviously. Besides, Harry already knows how amazing that is. I’m talking about other things.”

Liam stuck out his bottom lip and pouted a little. “Can you not involve me in it? I hate knowing things like this and having to act normal. It makes me feel dirty.”

Louis looked at him in surprise. “When have I ever tried to do something like this to a guest before?”

“I’m talking about when you used to have us teepee our teachers in high school!”

Louis rolled his eyes and flapped his hand at his best friend. “Shut up, Li. You always went and confessed before helping them clean up, anyway.”

“Only once,” Liam defended before he went back to chopping carrots. “I felt bad that Mrs. Herron was pregnant.”

“Her husband and four other kids were still perfectly able to help clean it up,” Louis reminded Liam. Still, Liam only shrugged and kept chopping. “If only people knew what a softie you are underneath all your massive chains.”

“That’s it,” Liam said sternly, pointing with the knife at the door. “Get out of my kitchen. No one insults the chains.”

Louis held up his hands and backed away from the knife point.

“Yes, sir. What time should I tell people to expect dinner?”

“Six. Unless the carrots don’t soften like last night, then more like quarter after.”

Louis smiled and left the room, throwing a quick _thank you_ over his shoulder. It was time to get to work on ruining Harry’s stay and finding a way to save his home from the bank.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry was jarred awake by his room phone ringing. God, who the hell could be calling him here? No one had this number.

“Hello?” he croaked.

“This is your wakeup call! It’s time to wake up!” a cheerful chorus of children sang at Harry. It was obviously a recording, but he had no idea why they were singing to him at...oh shit it was only 4:45 in the morning. Why did God hate him so much? Harry hung up the phone and rolled back over in bed.

Harry had just gotten back to sleep when the phone rang again, jolting Harry awake with such force that his limbs felt a little shaky. He hated that feeling of being pulled out of a sleep unexpectedly like that.

“Hello?” he answered once more, and again the same chorus of children’s voices announced it was time to wake up. “Like fuck it is,” Harry grumbled as he slammed the phone down.

The pattern continued every fifteen minutes until Harry finally gave up and left the phone off the hook around six. By that point, though, he had already gotten five calls and there was no getting back to sleep after that.

Harry got up and threw on the only pair of clean clothes he had left. He would have to make his way into town to get a few more items of clothing and another bag for them to return home with him since he was going to be there another couple of days.

Rubbing his eyes and stumbling down the stairs in the darkness, Harry found his way to the kitchen, which not even Liam had inhabited yet. Maybe he was running late. Or had the morning off. Or maybe he was never in this early. Harry wouldn’t know since he hated mornings and tried not to come down before nine. There had to be coffee somewhere, though, and Harry _really_ needed coffee.

“Oh, Harry! I didn’t expect you to be up this early,” Louis said, far too chipper. He obviously hadn’t been woken up by a children’s chorus unexpectedly. When Harry turned to look at him, Louis’ cheerful smile turned to a concerned frown. “Did you not sleep well?”

“I was sleeping just fine until wake-up calls started coming in every fifteen minutes starting before five,” Harry explained through a yawn. “Is there some coffee?”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry,” Louis apologized. “There must be a malfunction with our system. I’ll take a look at that later. And yeah, let me get the coffee going for you.”

Harry nodded and sat down at the single stool standing beside the island. “So what are your plans for the day?”

“I’ve got to do all sorts of things around the property, have some lights that apparently went out on the roof for the Christmas decorations, and things like that. How about you?”

Harry scrubbed a hand down his face. “Uhm, I’ve gotta go into town and get some more clothes and things. So I think mostly just that and work.”

As soon as Harry spoke, Louis froze for a moment before suddenly getting right back to work with preparing the coffee mugs. Soon enough, a cup of fresh coffee was sitting in front of Harry.

“Oh. Are you staying longer than just the two days after all, then?” Louis’ voice was a little higher than usual, but then again Harry’s brain was still fuzzy. Mornings were the worst.

“Oh. Yeah. Zayn extended my booking yesterday. I assumed he’d told you.” Harry took a sip of the coffee and closed his eyes. He imagined he could already feel the caffeine taking effect, and he praised all the coffee gods before taking another quick sip. “Thanks, Louis. This is amazing.”

Louis gave Harry a tight smile before heading towards the kitchen door, looking almost robotic with his movements. He was acting weird now, Harry wasn’t just imagining it, and Harry had no idea why.

“Well, I hope the rest of your day goes better than your morning has!” Louis said and then rushed out of the room.

“Thanks,” Harry mumbled down into his coffee.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis was gathering the rest of the ornament decorating supplies from the barn when he made up his mind. He had to sneak into Harry’s room and check out his computer to see if he knew everything about the financial situation Louis was in. If he did, then Louis was probably going to lose the lodge. Louis was doing his best to avoid thinking about it, but it was impossible at this point. The chance was there, it was getting higher the longer Louis didn’t come up with a solution, and he was going to have to deal with it at some point. Or maybe everything would be fixed through some Christmas miracle.

Louis rolled his eyes at himself and finished stacking the supplies into the bag he was using to cart all of the sequins, glitter, and other fun things to the main room of the lodge. There wasn’t going to be a Christmas miracle. Those didn’t exist. The only way Louis was going to be able to keep the lodge was if he found a way to make it work himself.

The first step to doing that was to plan what needed to happen regarding getting into Harry’s room. He needed a distraction to keep Harry away from the lodge and completely unaware of Louis’ snooping.

Louis set down all the decorations and Liam came out with the bowls they were going to use to hold the various items for the ornament decorating competition.

Louis peeked over his shoulder to make sure the main room was deserted like he thought it was. Luckily Niall and Shawn had come up with the brilliant idea of making snowmen and everyone, even Harry, were now out front of the lodge building an entire snowmen village. Louis had to admit that it was adorable seeing how Harry worked with all the kids. It made disliking him incredibly difficult, but at the same time he was trying to take away Louis’ home and livelihood. Harry was the enemy, even if he was kind and wonderful and…

Louis really needed to stop thinking like that.

“Hey, Li? Is Zayn here?”

Liam blushed a little before tentatively looking up at Louis. “Why are you asking me? He’s your best friend.” He fiddled with the bag of silver and gold sequins in his hand before finally spilling them into a bowl.

“I’m asking you because he spends more time with you in the kitchen when he comes to supposedly visit me, so I figured you’d know if he was around better than I would.”

Liam’s blush got deeper before he nodded. “He just ran out to the woodshed because he noticed we were getting low in the fireplace.”

Louis gave a smirk and nudged Liam. Those two had been quietly revolving around each other for years. It was about time something finally started happening.

“Oh, good,” Zayn’s voice traveled over the wooden floors at the same rate the cold air did, causing both Louis and Liam to shiver. Louis suspected it might be for different reasons. “The owner of this horrible place finally decided to do some work around here instead of leaving it to the guests.”

“Shut up and do your work like a best friend should,” Louis shot back before dividing up the few red beads that had found their way into the gold pins bowl. “I have a favor to ask you two.”

“Oh God, I knew there was a reason you were asking if Zayn was here,” Liam groaned. “Just ask already.”

Louis looked around again and found the area was still empty besides the three of them. He leaned in towards Liam and whispered, “I can’t until he’s closer. No one can overhear this.”

Zayn slid up next to Liam and leaned in as well, a look of amusement on his face. “You have some good gossip or what?”

Louis shook his head and continued to whisper. “I’m gonna sneak into Harry’s room to see what more he knows about the Holly Lodge’s financials and I need you two to keep him away from here and distracted while I’m doing it.”

Liam’s eyebrows rose. “I’m a shit liar, Lou. You know that. Why would you want me to do that?”

Zayn nudged Liam with his elbow and gave him a fond smile. “I’m guessing he wants me to actually take Harry away from here and you to act as lookout. Am I right?”

Zayn’s eyes moved from Liam to Louis and Louis had to take a minute to pull himself together again. He wasn’t use to seeing his best friend acting so openly fond of someone, not even Liam. Had something already changed and he hadn’t realize it until now?

“Yeah, Zayn got it,” Louis agreed, refocusing on organizing the mess of a table in front of them. “Zayn, one. Liam, zero. So will you help me?”

“I dunno,” Liam said, nervousness permeating his tone. “Is this really a good idea? I mean, I felt bad enough taking the photo of his screen before.”

Zayn dropped the foam ornament he had been holding, allowing it to roll to the floor in his haste to turn to the man beside him. Louis looked up and saw his entire face slack with surprise. “You what?”

Liam’s face flamed again. At this point, that blush might be making a permanent home with him. “I already told you about this. I accidentally woke up Harry’s computer when cleaning his room, which he doesn’t keep locked by the way. Did I mention that before? Doesn’t that seem like a bad idea? Anyway, when it turned on, I took a quick photo of that document.”

Zayn’s face slowly changed from one of lax shock to a bright, wide smile. “Liam Payne. First off, you did not tell me about this, it must have been someone else. Second, I didn’t know you had it in you!” Zayn clapped him on the shoulder and shook him a little bit, causing Liam to smile happily back at him. It was adorable, but not answering Louis’ questions, and he was sure the snowmen would be finished at any moment.

“So. Are you two going to help me, or not?”

“Course we are,” Zayn answered without even looking at Louis. “I’ll take him to the bar we were talking about last night and Liam can stay here and let you know when he gets back.”

Relief and confidence in his plan flooded Louis. “Thank you. You two are the best.”

Louis gathered up the empty bags and began to run them behind the desk where he was keeping the storage for everything in the meantime. As he walked away he heard Liam mumble, “I didn’t even agree for myself. Zayn did for me.”

“And you didn’t fight it, did you, babe?” Zayn murmured back, just loud enough for Louis to overhear. It was then he knew he should probably disappear back outside and give them a moment.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry settled down at the bar and looked around. It was cozy and comfortable, just like everything else in this town. Harry was slowly falling in love with the place. The clean air and small town environment was speaking to him far more than he ever could have anticipated, having grown up in New York City.

“So, Zayn, I know about most of the others at the Holly Lodge, but I don’t actually know your story.”

Zayn looked over the pint of beer he had somehow procured before Harry had even see the bartender and smirked. “I’m basically the resident handyman.”

Harry blinked when Zayn didn’t offer any other information. “For...the lodge?” Harry prompted. “The town? The state?”

Zayn laughed and shook his head. “Mostly the town. I do the smaller projects and Steve does everything else.”

“Steve, like the guy with the hair who was working that Christmas stand on Main Street?” Harry finally waved the bartender down and, while they didn’t offer his favorite craft beer, Harry was still able to get a Sam Adams, so all wasn’t completely lost.

“Yeah, that’s him. I didn’t know you’d met, but that makes sense. Everyone who comes through town should know Steve. He’s got connections to everyone.”

Harry pursed his lips and nodded. “Interesting. He doesn’t really seem like the handyman type.”

Zayn looked down at himself before raising his gaze again. “And I do? What exactly does a handyman look like, Harry?”

“Uh…” Harry fumbled for a minute trying to find a good way to remove his foot from his mouth. “I mean, you don’t really either, no. So...like...I guess how did you come to do that? Do you own the hardware shop or something?”

Zayn snorted. “Fuck, no. That’s Andy’s thing. Basically my family owned this mountain for generations, so when people started buying the land it made my family live very comfortably. I was essentially a trust fund baby. I went off to go to college and travel the world and all that shit, but when Louis’ parents died, he needed all the help he could get. I wasn’t doing shit with my life, so I came to do what I could. He wouldn’t accept my money to help pay for things, so I made myself useful in other ways.”

Zayn shrugged and moved his beer around on the counter, not meeting Harry’s eyes anymore. Harry could tell there was more, though, so he waited patiently and took another sip from his drink.

“Louis won’t admit it, but he does need help and hates asking for it.” At this Zayn looked up at Harry again, as if he was trying to convey a message.

Harry knew Louis needed financial help, but he wasn’t sure how Zayn would know Harry knew that. Or maybe he was indicating Louis needed a different kind of help? Harry was a little confused on the message he was supposed to be getting, but Zayn quickly continued anyway.

“I was always good with a wrench and used to fix shit around home all the time when we were young, so when things started falling apart at the lodge I was the only one he was comfortable asking and I only took what he was able to pay. Then old lady Ralph needed help at her house and she heard what I was doing at Holly Lodge, so she hoped I could help, and it just became a thing.”

Harry smiled at Zayn. “That’s actually a really cool story. A lot of people came back to watch over Louis when he needed it.”

Zayn nodded and looked over his shoulder to watch as Paul from the bank walked into the bar, saw the two of them sitting together, and then awkwardly walked right back out. Harry would have to talk to him about that tomorrow.

“Yeah,” Zayn said, distracted. He turned around again, though, and said, “Louis’ just that kind of person. He has this way of making the entire world revolve around him without even realizing it.”

“Must have been a bitch when you were younger,” Harry commented.

Zayn outright laughed, and it might have been the first time Harry had heard him do that. It was nice to be able to witness him loosening up a bit. Harry felt like he’d earned something special, since Zayn’s laughter wasn’t quickly bestowed.

“You have no idea, man,” Zayn said. “Stick around long enough and I’ve got stories I could tell.”

“I’m sure you do.”

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis got back to the lodge after making the emergency run for more napkins. Honestly. How had they gotten so low and he hadn’t noticed? Louis was losing his touch because he was too distracted and it was incredibly frustrating. He ran the Holly Lodge like a well-oiled machine and it was getting to the point now where he felt like he was losing his touch along with his mind.

“Louis!” Liam came rushing out of the kitchen as soon as Louis had closed the coat closet. “I’m so glad you’re back. Harry left with Zayn not long after you did for the store! I tried to put off their leaving to give you as much time as possible but I got weird.”

Louis’ eyes widened. “That was almost an hour ago, Liam! I don’t have much time left, then.”

Liam shook his head manically. Louis ran and grabbed the master key for the rooms before walking as calmly as possible up the stairs until no one could no longer see him. Then he ran as fast as possible while Liam went to his “lookout post” aka the great room where Niall had somehow wrangled Jess and Shawn into watching _It’s a Wonderful Life._

Louis unlocked Harry’s door and then slid the door shut quietly behind him. Harry left one of the lights on, which was nice. Louis wouldn’t have to worry about whether he should turn it off when he left later.

Harry’s computer was sitting wide open on his bed. Did he always leave it open like that? From the sound of it, that’s how it had been sitting when Liam saw it earlier as well. Louis huffed a sigh in frustration at Harry’s obvious education and yet lack of care for his computer and the intellectual information held within, but he couldn’t be overly frustrated at this point. After all, it was because of Harry’s poor habits that Louis knew this was happening in the first place.

Louis walked over to the bed and knelt down beside it. He didn’t want to ruin the way the covers were perfectly made. Harry might know someone had been in there. Louis gently slid the computer over to the side and hit the spacebar. Just like Liam had said would happen, the computer woke up and showed the internet page Harry had most recently had active.

Strange. Harry had been searching rentals in the area. Why would he need that information? Louis shook his head. He couldn’t get distracted. He didn’t have the time for it.

Louis quickly minimized the web browser and easily found the document he was looking for saved to the desktop. Harry really did need a better filing system, this was all going far more smoothly than Louis could have ever hoped.

All of Louis’ positivity vanished as he read through the document though. Harry knew everything. He knew about the extra parcel of land that was held in a trust for Louis, he knew about the fact that Louis was six months behind in the mortgage. He knew that there was no way Louis could stop the sale from happening, even if he wanted to.

“Oh, God,” Louis whined as he closed out of the document and pulled up the web browser and the strange search for rentals. The seemingly definite buyout was probably why. Harry would need to be in the area to oversee the transition and then whatever hack job the new owners would do on the Holly Lodge.

The lodge had been Louis’ parents’ dream, and Louis had hoped it could continue to be the dream of his future family and loved ones as well for many generations, but it looked like he couldn’t hold onto it long enough for that. Why that was his first thought upon reading that document, he had no idea, but it was just one more painful thought balanced on top of a mountain of reasons why Louis’ heart hurt.

Louis was just pushing the laptop back to the part of the bed he thought it was left on when his phone buzzed. He pulled it out and found _SOS!!! Harry is back and headed up to you!!!_ from Liam.

“Shit!” Louis whispered. He scrambled to his feet and was about to see if he could sneak out of the door before Harry made it up the stairs when he heard the key in the door. Louis quickly hid himself in the bathroom and prayed Harry wouldn’t come inside.

This was the worst idea Louis had ever had. Why did he think that would be enough time for him to get out of Harry’s room? Now he was stuck in here. And Harry’s computer was awake and not sleeping. Louis was about to be caught and then Harry would laugh in his face and tell him how he was taking over the lodge and…

Harry’s footsteps that had been walking over towards the bed stopped and Louis heard him sigh. Oh, that sounded like a phone buzzing.

“Hello, Charles,” Harry greeted.

Harry sounded strained and not at all pleased to be having the call. Louis hated that he could tell that just from Harry’s voice.

“No, I don’t have all the information ready, yet. It’s taking longer than expected, I told you.” After another pause, Harry continued. “No, it’s...Charles? Are you there? Hang on, I think reception is better in the hall.”

Louis listened to Harry make his way back out to the hall, but he left the door open and was standing right in front of it. That was definitely a no go.

Louis ran to the window in the room and looked down. It was definitely too far down to the ground to try dropping from the window, but as Louis looked at the roof overhang, he remembered the ledge that had been put on when he’d done repairs on the roof a few years ago. The builders had said it would help it be more sturdy, so he’d done it, and now he was grateful. The roof was the way he would have to leave. Getting down might be complicated, but he’d been up there already to help put up the lights, so he’d figure out how to get down eventually.

Turning and finding Harry still on the phone, Louis overheard him say, “No, it’s a family business, and you know how messy those are,” before rolling his eyes and opening the window as quietly as possible. He didn’t want to be anywhere close to Harry’s vicinity at the moment anyway.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry was relieved that he didn’t experience 4:30 a.m. wake up calls, but he had been kept awake until nearly two by banging pipes. It seemed so weird that they had been silent and seemed to be working perfectly fine the entire time he’d been here and then suddenly they started making so much noise. It sounded almost like someone was banging on them, but they stopped as suddenly as they started, so it looked like Louis had been able to take care of the issue and Harry had finally gotten some decent rest.

Thinking through his day yesterday, Harry was quite pleased. He had been able to place a bid on the promissory note for Holly Lodge between shopping for new clothes and coming back to the lodge and finding a fantastic snowman building competition going on.

Harry felt pretty horrible about having to place a formal bid on the lodge and probably freaking Louis out, if he knew already, but it was a necessary evil so he could have access to the financial records and other paperwork for the lodge and see if he could find a loophole for Louis to get out of selling to Charles. If Charles ever found out Harry was doing this, he would lose his job, but he was also finding he cared about that less now than he had even just a couple days ago. The town of Holly was changing him, and Harry had to admit he liked this version of himself better than he had liked himself in a very long time.

The shower was steaming when Harry walked back into the bathroom, ready and eager to let the hot water loosen his tight muscles after playing in the snow with the kids for so long yesterday. Harry stepped in and sighed in relief when the water began to pound his sore shoulders. As he went about washing his hair, he began to hum the song that had been in his head nonstop since he first saw Louis dancing to it in the barn.

“I don’t want a lot for Christmas,” Harry began to sing out loud. The walls were pretty thick here. He was sure he could belt it a little while in the privacy of his shower. “There’s just one thing I need…”

Harry had been haunted by Mariah Carey’s Christmas cheer and the visions of Louis dancing since he’d gotten to town. He knew it was a popular anthem for this time of year, and Harry himself was quite a fan, but he had heard the song at least four times every day. It meant that even when he was trying to focus on his task at hand and forget the handsome man who ran the inn for at least a few minutes, he wasn’t able to. As soon as her opening notes started, Harry saw Louis shaking his hips and singing into the hot glue gun and for those four minutes the song played.

Harry was really getting into it and was rinsing off his body wash while belting out _I just want you for my own, more than you would ever know_ when Harry was jolted back to reality by the water going horrifically icy cold. Harry jumped and screamed as he scrambled around the shower, already shivering from the sudden temperature change, and shut off the water.

“Holy shit,” Harry gasped out as he shook his way out of the bathtub and found the warm, fluffy towel he had waiting for him. He gratefully wrapped it around himself, his hair dripping the icy cold droplets of the last few seconds of his shower down the back of his neck and his temple.

He might not have gotten the literal wake-up calls this morning that he’d been graced with yesterday, but he wasn’t a fan of this kind either. Maybe this was a continuation of the pipes issue that had been going on overnight. Harry hoped it wasn’t anything serious. He loved his long, hot showers and having one cut short wasn’t something he wanted to see repeated if he could avoid it.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis was actually pretty glad that Liam had convinced him to stop banging on the pipes when he did. The sleep Louis got was blissful and the perfect precursor to hearing Harry’s gorgeous voice suddenly turn from singing Louis’ favorite Christmas song to shrieks when his shower suddenly turning cold.

Louis would love to hear Harry finish the song at some point, but he also knew that wasn’t something he would ever be able to do. If Harry succeeded at getting the lodge, then Louis wasn’t going to be able to stick around here. If Harry didn’t, then there would be no reason for the man to stay either.

Louis huffed to himself in annoyance and frustration that even after Harry showing him that he might be a nice, maybe even lovely, man personally, his professional moral compass definitely left something to be desired.

Louis tried to push Harry, as well as his concerned questions surrounding the pipes and water temperature issues that Louis had subsequently lied heavily about, out of his head. Paul had requested another meeting, and considering Louis had just been here a couple of days ago, that wasn’t a good sign.

The door opened and the bank was turned to the local radio station, which was also playing “All I Want for Christmas.” Louis shook his head. It was almost his anthem this year or something.

“Hey, Louis,” Emily greeted when Louis walked over to the small business banking counter. “Here for Paul?”

“Hey, Emmu,” Louis smiled back. Emily was always very sweet and Louis had always enjoyed that she liked to spice up her usual conservative outfits and hairstyles with bright red lipstick. “Yeah, I’m here for Paul. I think he’s expecting me?”

Emily nodded and craned her neck back a little. “I believe he was just finishing up a phone call, so if you want to sit outside his office, he should be opening the door here soon and you can go on in.”

Louis waved his thanks and walked over to Paul’s office. Louis was about to sit down when the large man opened the door.

“Oh! Hello, Louis. Come on in.”

“Thanks, Paul.” Louis was a little confused. Paul had seemed somber during their last meeting, but this time there was something else. Louis knew it had to be to do with Harry.

“I’m just going to tell it to you, Louis. A bid has been made on the Holly Lodge.”

Louis bit his lip and nodded, trying his best to keep his tears at bay. He’d been afraid this would happen, and now his worst fears were being realized. Two days before Christmas, no less.

“Obviously, this doesn’t mean that anything will happen. A bid just allows them access to your financial records and after that it could take a month or two to finalize the sale and after that there would still be a transitory period for you to turn over the business according to how the lawyers require.”

Louis just kept nodding, but he wasn’t really taking in any of the information. Since nothing was sure yet, Louis didn’t feel like he needed to hear what was being said. Everything would be laid out in writing soon enough, as it was, and then Louis would be able to take it in at his own pace. For right now, Louis just wanted to be able to mourn the fact that after twelve years he was losing the building that had been his parents’ dream and everything they had worked for.

Finally, unable to hold back the emotion anymore, Louis stood up abruptly and swiped at the lone tear that had escaped so far.

“Thanks, Paul. I’m sorry, but I’m sure we can meet again later when everything is finalized and go over all of this information then, yeah? After Christmas, preferably?”

Paul gave an apologetic smile. “Of course, Louis. Again, I’m sorry to be giving you this news so close to the holidays.”

“You’re only the messenger, Paul. Thanks anyway. Merry Christmas.”

Paul echoed his sad sentiments and Louis rushed out of the bank as soon as he could so he could cry alone in his car before pulling himself together and doing what he could to enjoy the rest of his last Christmas at the only home he’d ever known.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry walked down the main drag and paused by Steve’s Christmas stand.

“Hey, man! I knew I’d see you around,” Steve greeted, offering not just a handshake but a hug to Harry as if they were long-time friends.

Harry couldn’t help the smile that grew just being in this man’s presence. There was something so incredibly calming and cheering simply being near him. It was similar to the effect Louis had, and maybe that was what made Harry enjoy their company.

“Yeah, man! I’m actually going to be collecting quite a few presents and wrapping materials for the kids at the Holly Lodge today and I was hoping that instead of carting them around with me or leaving them unattended in the car that I could stash them with you?”

Steve’s smile somehow grew wider as he nodded in excitement. “Dude, that’s some serious Santa shit you’ve got going on. Are you gonna rock the beard and red belly and everything? Sure, I’ll be an elf for ya!”

“Thanks, Steve. And I’d love the costume, but I wasn’t sure where I’d find one around here.”

Steve gave a thoughtful look over Harry’s shoulder before pulling his phone out. “There’s not one in Holly, but let me make some calls. I’m sure I can track one down, even this last minute. I’ll have an answer for you within the hour.”

“Thanks, Steve.”

Harry turned around with a wave and already heard Steve on the phone while he made his way to the bank. He walked in and immediately was greeted by Emily.

“Hello, Mr. Styles. We have the paperwork you requested.”

Harry smiled and was glad. He was hoping that this could be a fast pick up so he could focus on his other Christmas surprises.

“Excellent. Thank you.”

Emily pulled out a small manila folder as well as a tiny stack of papers and passed them to Harry. “Here are the statements Paul pulled for you.”

Harry picked up what she handed over and began to flip through them in confusion.

“Uh, I’m sorry, but this isn’t nearly the information I requested.”

Emily’s smile tightened and he could see she was getting nervous. “Yes, I know, but he said you wouldn’t want to see _all_ the paperwork we have for the lodge. I mean, they’ve banked with us since they opened in 1976. That’s a lot of paperwork, Mr. Styles.”

Harry leaned onto the counter and gave her what he hoped was a soothing smile. He didn’t want her to be nervous. He wasn’t angry, he just really needed every piece of paperwork he could possibly get ahold of if he was going to find a way to save the lodge.

“Listen, Emily. First, please call me Harry. Mr. Styles is far too formal for me. Second, I know it’s a lot of paperwork, but that’s actually what I was hoping for. I need every single piece you can possibly pull that I have rights to for the lodge, okay? I’ve actually got some shopping to do, so would it be okay if I gave you, say, four or five hours to pull all of that, and then I’ll be back for it?”

Emily nodded. “We have digital records of the last five years, but everything past that is still paper, so it really will be quite a bit, Harry. I hope you don’t mind.”

“You’re making my dreams come true by saying that,” Harry assured as he offered her a wink.

“I’ll have it all ready for you by close, Mr….Harry.”

“Thanks, Emily.” Harry waved at the tellers who were staring at him as he walked back outside. He had some children’s toys and wrapping paper to purchase.

 

*~~***~~*

 

The rest of the day had been a haze for Louis after that meeting with Paul. What had finally pulled him out of it was Niall and Shawn, ironically.

“Look at you two all cozy over here,” Louis commented as he finished cleaning up after dinner. Niall and Shawn had Jess between them, asleep with her head rested on Niall’s lap, legs draped over her father, and the two men were whispering to one another over her sleeping form. They were a heartwarming picture of what a family should be, if anyone asked Louis.

Niall and Shawn both looked up, offering bright and genuine smiles. The three of them all looked more relaxed and happy than Louis had seen them the entire trip. It was like a transformation had occurred. Maybe it was the magic of the lodge. Maybe it was something more.

“Niall has been amazing with Jess,” Shawn said, his eyes bright as he fondly looked at the man sitting beside him. “He’s been amazing with both of us.”

Niall shook his head, his eyes never once leaving Shawn. “Shawn and Jess were exactly what I needed to see how much life I still have to live, even without Logan.”

Louis nodded in agreement, even though it was obvious they already had forgotten he was there. It was okay. He would let them have their time together.

The next morning, Jess wasn’t even pretending to be sullen anymore. She was back to her happy, bouncing self thanks to the attention of both Niall and Shawn. In fact, the entire gathering of people for breakfast had an aura of happiness and peace around them. It was amazing to see and everything Louis could have hoped for.

“Hey, has anyone seen Harry?” Louis asked. He hated having to ask after him, but he hadn’t seen him since breakfast the day before, and he wanted to be sure he wasn’t wasting away in his room.

“Not since last night. He came to the kitchen as I was cleaning up for a snack since he’d been caught up on a so-called secret project and missed dinner,” Liam explained.

Zayn snorted. “Maybe you should have set up one of your wake-up calls for him again.”

Louis shook his head, tears near the surface again just from remembering the ridiculous plan Louis had made to make Harry’s life miserable in an attempt to save his beloved lodge.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Zayn asked, warm hand on Louis’ shoulder.

Louis looked over his shoulder at the scene of his makeshift family enjoying a delicious breakfast of baked french toast and all the fixing for Christmas Eve breakfast.

“In the kitchen,” Louis murmured, and the trio walked to the noisy room where their voices would be covered from anyone wanting to overhear them.

“I didn’t hear you banging on pipes, so I know this isn’t just lack of sleep,” Liam said as he wiped his hands and walked over to stand beside Zayn. “What’s going on, Louis?”

“I might not have been entirely truthful with what I’d told you about the state of the mortgage.”

Liam’s eyebrows furrowed and his lips turned down. “What do you mean?”

Louis rolled his eyes. “I mean that I’m not just behind by a couple of months. I’m behind by just over six and the loan is in default. Harry’s made a bid on it and because of that this is likely our last Christmas here. I dunno how long we have, but we’ll all be searching for something new next year. I’m so sorry, you guys. I feel like I’ve let you down.”

By now Louis was crying again, but his two best friends were still just staring at him.

“How much is that, Lou? I have the money from my parents that I’ve never even touched. I know you said before you didn’t want my money, but I could talk to the bank and see-”

“Zayn, absolutely not.” Louis appreciated what his friends were going to try to do, but there was no way in hell he would ever accept their offers. “This isn’t your mess, it’s mine. That money is yours, and besides, I don’t think it would be enough. Not with a bid already made. It’s too late.”

Two pairs of brown eyes were too much weight for Louis to bear in addition to his own emotions. He took a deep breath and tried to dry his cheeks, but each rub of his sweater just allowed for a new tear track to appear. Soon enough, Louis felt Zayn’s familiar arms wrap around him, shortly followed by Liam’s.

“We’ll figure this out, Lou,” Zayn promised. “We will. You might lose the Holly Lodge, but you aren’t losing us and we can get through anything, alright?”

Louis nodded, his eyes squeezed tight because the tears didn’t feel quite so heavy if he couldn’t see how they obscured his vision as they fell.

“Let’s give our friends out there the best Christmas they’ve ever had in farewell, hm?” Liam suggested gently. “We’ve got the ornament decoration competition winners to be announced tonight in addition to the big dinner. Let’s focus on that and take one day at a time until we have more details, okay?”

“Okay,” Louis agreed, thankful they hadn’t pulled back from the hug yet. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Louis. We’re always here for you.”

And Louis knew that, but it didn’t make the ache in his heart lessen.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Harry poured and poured over the paperwork. He was glad he had wrapped the gifts first thing after he’d gotten back the day before, because Emily hadn’t exaggerated. There was a hefty load of paperwork for Harry to sort through. Most of them were statements that wouldn’t do him any good, but he still wanted to at least glance at each piece of paper to make sure it was all just what he’d expected. It was.

Harry’s hopes were beginning to fall. He’d wanted to find something that could give him the opportunity to show Louis all wasn’t lost and he could still keep the business that meant so much to him, but it didn’t look like he would be able to find it.

Harry leaned back in the uncomfortable chair and groaned. His back was killing him and he still had two boxes left to sort through. The chair hadn’t been quite so unrelenting when he’d sat down in it hours ago. He’d finally gotten a good night’s rest and was looking forward to finding some magical piece of paper that could save everything, but that was around eight that morning. It was now well past three and nearing time for the Christmas Eve dinner. It didn’t matter how comfortable a chair was, if you sat in it for something like seven hours straight it would feel like the worst torture.

Harry scrubbed his face. He was running out of time. He had to get back to work if he was going to make it in time for any of the celebrations tonight, and he would _not_ let his well laid plans and all the work Steve had done for him go to waste because he wasn’t able to focus.

Harry stood up and stretched before walking over to the only two containers that could potentially hold what Harry was looking for. One was obviously newer, fewer watermarks or dents to the corners, whereas the other looked like it might actually be older than Harry. Harry took his chance and grabbed the older box, carrying it over to the desk. He set it down and began to pull out stacks of papers until he set the empty box on the floor, waiting to be refilled with the papers that didn’t hold the answers.

It was only one third of the way through the second stack from that box before Harry sat up straight his spine tingling a little. He flipped several pages in excitement before seeing signatures on the last page telling him this might be exactly what he had been searching for.

Suddenly rejuvenated, Harry bent over, computer at hand and ready to research the various laws surrounding these old bank papers, and began to read the tiny font. He had to make sure he wasn’t jumping to conclusions and that he understood everything he was reading. He could not afford to make a mistake, not when so much was on the line.

 

*~~***~~*

 

“Hey, Zayn! Liam!” Louis shouted happily as he went barging into the kitchen. The two men flew apart in such a way that Louis knew something was up. “Holy shit, did you finally get your heads out of your asses and decide to go on a date?”

“Oh my God, Louis! Stop!” Liam complained as he threw an oven mitt at Louis.

“What?” Louis asked, smiling wide. “I’ve only been waiting, like, twenty years for this!”

“You didn’t even know _you_ were gay when you were thirteen, much less that we were,” Zayn countered. “And, yes. I finally asked Liam on a date.”

“I said yes, not that you should know for the way you’re acting right now,” Liam countered. “God, I need a new best friend.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m happy for you, blah blah blah, but it’s time for you two to announce the winners of the ornament decorating contest.”

“Oh yeah!” Liam said, brightening up immediately. “Zayn, where’d you put the box of awards?”

Zayn turned around and began to dig around under one of the counters. “Here it is.”

Liam smiled brightly, grabbing the box and giving Zayn a peck on the cheek. “Okay, come on. Let’s go make those kids smile.”

Louis shook his head and followed them out the door. Rather than joining in the festivities, Louis watched from the background as Liam and Zayn worked perfectly in sync, just like they always did, as they complimented and offered the made up awards to each child for their festive contributions. They deliberated theatrically before announcing Jess as the overall winner. She cheered and, after hugging Zayn and Liam, ran over to Shawn and Niall for a group hug. It was lovely, and the perfect ending to the night.

“I really hoped Harry would be here. He helped me with my ornament,” Jess complained as she looked around. “He promised he would be here.”

Louis had no idea Harry had spent so much time with Jess. Where had Louis been and what had he been doing to have missed that?

“I’m sorry, honey. I’m not sure where he is,” Louis said, sad that Harry was starting to live up to the expectations Louis had for someone in his position. Louis had still somehow been holding out hope that Harry would turn around and prove him wrong somehow. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen.

“Ho ho ho!” a jovial voice called from upstairs. “I’m afraid my bag wouldn’t fit down the chimney tonight, it’s just far too full!”

Louis, along with the rest of the group, turned to the stairs and saw Harry, dressed in a full Santa costume and wig, coming down the stairs carrying a large sack.

“I believe these gifts all belong to you!” he called. “Let’s see. Brittany, here’s yours. I think it is exactly what you asked for!” Harry went on to give gifts to Lux, Jess, Mel, Josh, Jarren, and Kayleigh, naming every one of them and offering them wrapped gifts that they immediately tore into.

Louis was floored. Harry knew every one of the children and he knew them well enough to find the perfect gifts for them that Louis _knew_ their parents hadn’t already gotten for them. How had he done that? He must have been paying attention to everything these people said to him in the past several days.

Louis’ eyes began to water, because they were traitors. Louis officially hated his eyes. And his emotions. And his heart for warming in his chest despite the fact he knew that Harry was a horrible, cruel person that was taking the Holly Lodge away from Louis.

Louis was about to turn away and block himself in the kitchen doing something of use away from Harry when suddenly Santa was approaching him.

“And I just happen to have something for you, too, Louis,” he said softly.

Louis’ furrowed his brow as he took the box from Harry. Why was he the only adult getting a gift? What had Harry bought him? Louis certainly hadn’t told Harry about anything he actually wanted, like the kids were far more likely to have done.

“Uh, thanks,” Louis said, confused.

Harry gave him a bright smile before then turning back to the kids. As Harry announced that it was now time to talk about their favorite Christmas memories, Louis slipped into the kitchen. He wasn’t sure he was ready to accept this gift, even not knowing what it was, but he also had no idea what to do with it. He needed to figure out whether he wanted to chance that minefield or let it be somewhere a little more quiet.

 

*~~***~~*

 

Louis had gone missing from the party shortly after Harry gave him his gift, and Harry wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. He figured that once Louis had opened it, he would come to Harry with questions, but he’d just gone ghost.

The party was starting to wind down, the kids starting to be corralled to their rooms with threats that the _real_ Santa wouldn’t come if they were still awake. Less than half of the children still believed, but even so, they slowly started to make their way to their various rooms.

“Hey, Liam,” Harry greeted as he finally took off the hat and wig. It had been rather itchy, but also a lot of fun. “Have you seen Louis? He disappeared, and I really wanted to talk with him.”

Liam nodded towards the kitchen. “Last I saw, he went into the kitchen. I doubt he’s still there, but it might be a good place to start.”

“Thank you,” Harry said, with a quick clap of his hand to Liam’s shoulder, and then he made his way to the kitchen. As was to be expected, the room was empty, but as Harry made his way to the door that led to the back porch of the lodge, he saw the gift he’d given Louis sticking out of the trash can, still fully wrapped.

What the hell was going on? Louis had been acting weird towards Harry after the first day or so and now he was throwing away a completely wrapped gift? It was important or Harry wouldn’t have given it to him.

Harry grabbed the box out of the trash and made sure no food particles had latched on. Luckily they hadn’t, it was mostly paper products that had left minor grease stains but nothing more on that end of the box. Then, Harry walked towards the door in the hope of finding Louis outside somewhere.

He didn’t have to go far. Louis was sitting, wrapped up in a large, fluffy blanket, on the porch swing as he stared out at the trees.

“You didn’t even bother opening the present before you threw it in the trash,” Harry said before dropping the box on the swing beside Louis. Louis didn’t jump at all, just kept his eyes on the dark sky and somehow darker trees.

“I’m losing my home, thanks to you, so sorry if I wasn’t in the mood for any gifts you wanted to give.”

Harry paused. “What?”

Louis rolled his eyes and finally looked at Harry. “I know everything, Harry. I know you were out here scoping out my messy family business and trying to buy it out from under me. Well, congratulations, you did it. Now please take what I’m sure is a nice but meaningless gift and leave me alone. I’m trying to enjoy my last Christmas here.”

“Oh my God,” Harry groaned. “You’re such a fucking idiot. Of course you jumped to conclusions when you overheard some of my phone calls.”

“I didn’t just overhear your calls! I saw what you had typed up with all of your findings. How this is the perfect location for you to turn towards the upscale crowd looking for a quiet getaway, far from pesky townspeople and tourists.” Louis yelled, angrily. “I didn’t jump to any conclusions. I simply took the information given to me and followed the logical progression.”

“Did you go snooping on me?” Harry asked, incredulously. “What the hell, Louis?”

“I did, but only after Liam was cleaning in your room one day and your computer just turned itself on.” Louis’ blue eyes were blazing now, and Harry felt even colder than he already was with them burning into him. “Harry, I’m offering you this bit of advice, but lock your damn laptop. You seriously need some data protection, because without a password it wasn’t even really snooping.”

“Okay, before we go any further and piss each other off any more than we already have, I really need you to just open that box.” Harry shivered. “In fact, the lighting out here is pretty shit and I’m freezing. Can we please move this inside?”

“Why, so everyone can see me cry?” Louis snapped back.

“No, you stubborn ass. So you can see that while I was still doing what was required of me for my job, I was also putting it on the line in an attempt to save you from losing this place.”

That finally caught Louis’ attention and his jaw dropped open. He looked down at the box then back up at Harry.

“What?”

Harry picked up the box and walked back towards the kitchen door. “Just come inside, you idiot.”

“Stop calling me names.” Louis shouted behind him, but Harry wasn’t going to stick around to listen to him. He needed to get back inside, because the Santa outfit might look warm, but it allowed the wind through too easily.

Harry turned around and leaned against the counter until Louis lumbered back inside, dragging the red, fluffy blanket with him. Once the door was shut, he walked over to Harry and took the box.

“I didn’t throw this in the trash, by the way,” Louis mumbled as he gently untaped the wrapping paper. Harry would have expected Louis to be one of those who just tore into a gift, but the obvious care he was showing somehow fit him better. “I set it on the counter so I could figure out if I was going to open it or not. Something must have knocked it over.”

Harry grunted in response, waiting for Louis to see what was inside. Once he opened the box, he pulled out the slightly yellowed paper.

“This is dated 1983,” Louis said quietly. Harry watched as Louis’ eyes scanned the page, slowly widening and then flipping through the next two attached pages. “Harry, what does this mean? What am I looking at?”

When Louis finally lifted his gaze to Harry, Harry could see they were filled with hope but also trepidation.

“Your parents bought insurance, of a sort, for their mortgage,” Harry explained. “It’s a little more complicated than that, but what it comes down to is this was lost in the transition to digital. Paul never knew about this, and when I called him at his home this afternoon to verify what I was looking at, I have to tell you that he felt horrible.”

Louis was still shaking his head. “Just tell me what it means, Harry.”

Harry placed his hands on Louis’ shoulders. “This right here is an investment your parents made when they found out they were pregnant with you because they wanted to offer a protection for you and make sure you were taken care of, as well as the Holly Lodge, should anything happen to them. This states that upon their death, should the mortgage not already be fulfilled, it would be paid in full with no remaining balance.”

“But,” Louis said, blinking rapidly. “I continued to make payments, Harry. For twelve years. And the bank took them.”

Harry nodded. “I know, and for that Paul is even more sorry. He assured me that the bank would be paying you for every bit of money you gave them, plus interest, as soon as possible. They would really like to avoid any potential litigation this could bring about.”

Louis’ eyes widened and he just kept staring down at the papers and back up at Harry.

“So...the lodge is mine? Officially? Completely?”

Harry nodded, happy everything was finally coming together. “That’s right. No one can buy this place without your explicit permission.”

Louis’ shoulders fell and he leaned his head back, his eyes closed and wide smile on his face. Harry watched as he took a deep breath in before slowly letting it out. Only then did Louis open his eyes and look at Harry with a smirk.

“I’m sorry to tell you, Harry, but the Holly Lodge is not for sale and you’ve wasted your time here.”

Harry stepped closer, finally raising one of his hands from Louis’ shoulder up to his cheek. When Louis didn’t shy away from his touch, but actually leaned into it, Harry smiled and stepped even closer, so only the papers that were still in Louis’ tight grip separated them.

“That’s just fine with me. I’ll let my boss know at the same time I give him my resignation.”

Louis set the papers down on the island behind him before wrapping his arms around Harry’s neck. “Why are you resigning?”

Harry chuckled. “He’s going to be finding out pretty soon that I was actively working against him on this one, so I wouldn’t have a job for much longer anyway. Besides, I’m finding myself becoming quite attached to Holly.”

Louis gave a small smile before leaning in and kissing Harry.

It was everything Harry had been imagining it would be. Louis’ lips were soft but their pressure was firm, and the drag of his slightly chapped lips caused shivers to go up Harry’s spine. Harry wanted to pull Louis even closer and deepen the kiss, but right as he was about to the song that had been haunting him began to play again.

Harry pulled back and looked towards the door. It sounded like the adults were continuing the party for a little longer, and Harry really wanted to join them.

“You know, this song has been following me my entire stay, and every time I hear it I think of you,” Harry admitted.

Louis gave Harry a quizzical smile and asked, “Why did it make you think of me?”

Harry pulled back from Louis and reached for Louis’ hand. As he guided Louis to the door, Harry admitted, “I might have caught you singing and dancing to it in the barn my first day here.”

Louis stopped in his tracks, a look of horror on his face. “Oh my God, you did not.”

“Oh, I really did. Your performance was amazing,” Harry continued as he dragged Louis back to the great room. “I would love for a repeat, some time.”

“Harryyyyy,” Louis groaned. “I can’t believe you’ve been holding onto this the entire time! I always go all out for this song, but I really went over the top that day.”

Harry nodded in agreement. “Yes. You did. And I loved it.”

Harry stopped when he realized most of the adults had created a semi-circle around Niall and Shawn, who were both singing along with Mariah on the top of their lungs, pointing at each other. Harry only dropped Louis’ hand to clap along and cheer their performance, but at the very end, Shawn pulled a surprised Niall in and dipped him for a kiss. Louis cheered louder than anyone when the kiss ended, and Niall’s smile could probably be seen from space it was so wide.

“I think this year’s Christmas miracle was all of us finding each other at just the right time,” Louis said, leaning his head on Harry’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, when he realized that Liam and Zayn were full on making out underneath the mistletoe in the corner. “I think you might be right.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again for reading! I would truly love and appreciate your kudos and kind comments if you liked the fic. We would also love you forever if you reblogged the fic masterpost for all of our secret santa fics we wrote for this prompt [here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/168926603888/secret-santa-fic-exchange-a-small-group-of-us) and you can find my fic post now that we are revealed [here](http://lululawrence.tumblr.com/post/169007571538/christmas-at-the-holly-lodge-by-lululawrence-for).
> 
> Interested in helping support charities with fanfic? If you are, I could write a fic for you! Check out the info [here on Tumblr](https://1dfanworksforcharity.tumblr.com/post/174494969280/1d-fanworks-for-charity-auctions-for-lululawrence).


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